System and method for measurement gap usage signaling enhancement

Abstract

Systems and methods for measurement gap signaling are described herein. A user equipment (UE) receives, from a network, a configuration for one or more measurement objects (MOs) at the UE, and identifies, from among the one or more configured MOs, any overrun MO for which a measurement gap per frequency range (FR) would cause the UE to exceed a component carrier (CC) limit of the UE. Upon identifying one or more such overrun MO, the UE transmits a measurement gap instruction message to the network, the measurement gap instruction message configured to cause the network to use per UE measurement gaps (rather than per FR measurement gaps) corresponding to the overrun MO. An indication of using per UE measurement gaps in the measurement gap instruction message may be made on a per-MO, per-CC, per-band, per-FR, or per-band combination basis. In some cases, the measurement gap instruction message causes the network to use per UE measurement gaps for all configured MO.

Description

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This patent application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 375,145, filed on September 9, 2022, the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference into this document. Technical Field

[0003] The present application generally relates to wireless communication systems, including wireless communication systems capable of implementing measurement gaps per frequency range (FR). Background Art

[0004] Wireless mobile communication technologies use various standards and protocols to send data between base stations and wireless communication devices. For example, wireless communication system standards and protocols may include the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Long Term Evolution (LTE) (e.g., 4G), 3GPP New Radio (NR) (e.g., 5G), and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standard for wireless local area networks (WLANs) (commonly referred to within industry organizations as WLANs). ).

[0005] As envisioned by 3GPP, different wireless communication system standards and protocols may use various radio access networks (RANs) to communicate between base stations of the RAN (which may also sometimes be referred to as RAN nodes, network nodes, or simply nodes) and wireless communication devices referred to as user equipment (UE). 3GPP RANs may include, for example, Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE) RAN (GERAN), Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (UTRAN), Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN), and / or Next Generation Radio Access Network (NG-RAN).

[0006] Each RAN may use one or more radio access technologies (RATs) to perform communications between base stations and UEs. For example, GERAN implements GSM and / or EDGE RAT, UTRAN implements Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) RAT or other 3GPP RAT, E-UTRAN implements LTE RAT (sometimes referred to as LTE), and NG-RAN implements NR RAT (sometimes referred to herein as 5G RAT, 5G NR RAT, or NR). In some deployments, E-UTRAN may also implement NR RAT. In some deployments, NG-RAN may also implement LTE RAT.

[0007] The base stations used by the RAN may correspond to the RAN. An example of an E-UTRAN base station is an Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN) Node B (also commonly denoted as an evolved Node B, enhanced Node B, eNodeB, or eNB). An example of an NG-RAN base station is a Next Generation Node B (sometimes also referred to as a g-Node B or gNB).

[0008] The RAN provides communication services together with external entities through its connection with the Core Network (CN). For example, E-UTRAN may utilize the Evolved Packet Core (EPC) and NG-RAN may utilize the 5G Core Network (5GC).

[0009] The frequency bands of 5G NR can be divided into two or more different frequency ranges. For example, frequency range 1 (FR1) may include frequency bands operating at frequencies below 6 gigahertz (GHz), some of which are available for use by previous standards and can potentially be expanded to cover new spectrum products from 410 megahertz (MHz) to 7125MHz. Frequency range 2 (FR2) may include frequency bands from 24.25GHz to 52.6GHz. It should be noted that in some systems, FR2 may also include frequency bands from 52.6GHz to 71GHz (or higher). The frequency bands in the millimeter wave (mmWave) range of FR2 may have smaller coverage than the frequency bands in FR1 but potentially higher available bandwidth. The technician will recognize that these frequency ranges provided by way of example may change over time or region. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0010] To easily identify the discussion of any particular element or action, the most significant digit(s) in a reference number refers to the drawing number that first introduces the element.

[0011] Figure 1 A method of a UE according to an embodiment of this document is illustrated.

[0012] Figure 2 A method of a RAN according to an embodiment of the present invention is illustrated.

[0013] Figure 3 An example architecture of a wireless communication system according to embodiments disclosed herein is illustrated.

[0014] Figure 4 A system for performing signaling between a wireless device and a network device according to embodiments disclosed herein is illustrated. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0015] Various embodiments are described with respect to UE. However, reference to UE is provided for illustrative purposes only. The example embodiments may be used with any electronic component that can establish a connection with a network and is configured with hardware, software, and / or firmware for exchanging information and data with the network. Therefore, UE as described herein is used to represent any suitable electronic component.

[0016] One or more measurement gaps may be provided at the UE. A measurement gap may be a period of time during which uplink (UL) and downlink (DL) transmissions between the UE and the network relative to a radio frequency integrated circuit (RFIC) of the UE are suspended (e.g., unscheduled) so that radio frequency (RF) resources of the UE corresponding to the RFIC may be free to perform measurements of measurement objects (MOs) instead (e.g., on otherwise unused frequencies, such as to monitor potential handover conditions).

[0017] In some wireless communication networks, two types of measurement gap configurations may be defined. The first measurement gap configuration may be a "per UE" measurement gap configuration. In some cases of a UE using a per UE measurement gap procedure corresponding to a per UE measurement gap configuration, it may be the case that a single RFIC of the UE covers both FR1 and FR2 of the UE. In such cases, along with providing the measurement gap, use of this RFIC for UL / DL signaling is suspended. Therefore, a measurement gap configured for MO measurements in one of FR1 and FR2 will affect the ability of the UE to communicate simultaneously on either / each of FR1 and FR2 via (one) RFIC. Therefore, during such measurement gaps, there may be no uplink (UL) and downlink (DL) operations on either FR1 or FR2 (e.g., on the entire set of FRs used by the UE).

[0018] The second measurement gap configuration may be a "per FR" measurement gap configuration. In a UE using a per FR measurement gap procedure corresponding to a per FR measurement gap configuration, it may be the case that there are multiple (e.g., in some cases, two) discrete RFICs, each dedicated to covering one of FR1 and FR2 of the UE, respectively. In such a case, a measurement gap configured for MO measurement in one of FR1 and FR2 may provide sufficient measurement gaps by suspending UL / DL transmissions only on the RFIC corresponding to the FR in which the MO is found. At the same time, the UE continues to be able to communicate on the other of FR1 and FR2 (via another RFIC). In other words, when using a per FR measurement gap procedure, the measurement gap may only affect the FR where the MO is being measured (rather than all FRs used at the UE). Using a per FR measurement gap configuration may be advantageous over a per UE measurement gap configuration, at least in the sense that the UE may continue to perform UL and / or DL ​​transmissions of unaffected FRs during the measurement gap corresponding to the affected FR.

[0019] Gapless FR2 measurements without FR2 serving cell

[0020] It may be the case that some definitions and / or specifications for some wireless communication systems that are capable of using per-FR measurement gaps may require or use measurement gaps in situations where measurement gaps are not strictly required. For example, in various 3GPP specifications, there are several such situations regarding FR2 MO measurements (where measurement gaps may be required on FR2 even though it is not strictly necessary).

[0021] The first of these cases involves FR2 measurements in LTE standalone mode, as described in 3GPP Technical Specification (TS) 36.133, v.17.6.0 (June 2022) (hereinafter referred to as "TS 36.133"), sections 8.1.2.4.21.1.1 and 8.20.2.1 of TS 36.133 both state: "For UEs with per-FR measurement gap capability, the UE may perform such measurements without gaps when the serving cell is in [Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA)] and the measurement object is only in FR2."

[0022] Alternative language that may alternatively be used to more fully reflect the situation where measurement gaps in FR2 are not needed may alternatively be (for example): "For UEs with per FR measurement gap capability, when no FR2 serving cell is present, the UE may perform such measurements without gaps". This change recognizes that in all cases where no FR2 serving cells are present, measurement gaps that cover FR2 in order to accommodate a FR2 MO are not needed (because FR2 is not currently used for data signaling). For example, where the UE's current serving cells are all in E-UTRA and there are MOs configured at the UE for both FR1 and FR2, only the FR1 MO will need to use measurement gaps (e.g., per FR measurement gaps in FR1), while the FR2 MO may be scheduled anywhere without the need for measurement gaps in FR2.

[0023] This change enables relatively faster scheduling rates for FR1 and FR2 layers when applicable, since they do not need to share measurement gaps. In addition, this change removes the restriction that the FR2 Synchronization Signal Block (SSB)-based Measurement Timing Configuration (SMTC) window must be aligned with the measurement gap when applicable.

[0024] The second case involves FR2 measurements in E-UTRA-NR Dual Connectivity (EN-DC) mode or E-UTRA-NR Dual Connectivity (NE-DC) mode as described in 3GPP TS 38.133, v.17.6.0 (June 2022) (hereinafter referred to as “TS 38.133”), section 9.1.2, which states: “For a UE with per FR measurement gap capability configured with E-UTRA-NR dual connectivity or NR-E-UTRA dual connectivity, when the serving cell is in E-UTRA and FR1, the measurement objects are in both E-UTRA / FR1 and FR2, if the [master node (MN)] indicates to the UE that measurement gaps from the MN are applicable to E-UTRA / FR1 / FR2 serving cells, the UE satisfies the per UE measurement requirements for both E-UTRA / FR1 and FR2 measurement objects based on the measurement gap pattern configured by the MN; if the MN indicates to the UE that measurement gaps from the MN are only applicable to LTE / FR1 serving cells, the UE satisfies the measurement requirements for the FR1 / LTE measurement objects based on the configured measurement gap pattern, and the UE satisfies the requirements for the FR2 measurement objects based on an effective [measurement gap repetition period (MGRP)] = 20 ms”.

[0025] Alternative language that may alternatively be used to more fully reflect situations where measurement gaps in FR2 are not needed may alternatively be (for example) "For UEs with per-FR measurement gap capability configured with E-UTRA-NR dual connectivity or NR-E-UTRA dual connectivity, when the serving cell is in E-UTRA and FR1, the UE meets the measurement requirements for FR1 / LTE measurement objects based on the configured measurement gap pattern; the UE meets the requirements for FR2 measurement objects based on effective MGRP=20ms." This change recognizes that in all cases where all serving cells are in E-UTRA / FR1, there is no need to cover FR2 in order to accommodate measurement gaps for FR2 MOs (because FR2 is not currently used for data signaling). For example, in a situation where the UE's current serving cells are all in E-UTRA and there are MOs configured at the UE for both FR1 and FR2, only the FR1 MOs will need to use (formal) measurement gaps (e.g., per-FR measurement gaps in FR1), while FR2 MOs may be scheduled anywhere without the need for (formal) measurement gaps in FR2 (e.g., these may alternatively use effective MGRP).

[0026] This change enables the scheduling rate of FR1 and FR2 layers to be relatively faster when applicable, since they do not need to share measurement gaps. In addition, this change removes the restriction that the FR2 SMTC window must be aligned with the measurement gap when applicable.

[0027] Improved measurement gap capability per frequency range

[0028] In some cases, independent measurement gap UE capabilities (e.g., the ability to use per-FR measurement gaps) are specified on a per-UE basis, in other words, the UE can indicate to the network whether it supports the use of per-FR measurement gaps. This indication can be made without regard to a specific band combination and / or target carrier to be measured.

[0029] Under certain UE implementations, if the UE shares internal resources (e.g., memory or processing resources) between data / control and measurement, it may be problematic if the UE is configured to measure CCs when it already has many serving CCs. Therefore, cases have been identified where a UE that desires to be able to do per-FR measurement gaps "falls back" to a per-UE measurement gap configuration (e.g., where UL / DL transmissions are suspended across all (e.g., multiple) RFICs of the UE during a measurement gap).

[0030] More generally, it has been identified that there may be certain situations (e.g., corresponding to saturation of one or more UE baseband capabilities) where a UE that would otherwise be capable of using a per FR measurement gap configuration should instead use / fall back to a per UE measurement gap configuration.

[0031] The baseband capabilities of the UE may be controlled by and / or correspond to, for example, the buffer size used at the UE and / or the processing capabilities at the UE, etc. The number of simultaneous CCs that the UE is able to use within such baseband capabilities may be referred to herein as the "CC limit" of the UE. Thus, the CC limit of the UE may (also) be understood to be controlled by and / or correspond to the buffer size used at the UE, the processing capabilities at the UE, etc. It is contemplated that in some cases the CC limit may be based on the maximum number of active serving CCs across all FRs of the UE (e.g., between FR1 and FR2).

[0032] Consider a first case where the UE has two separate RFICs, one each for FR1 and FR2. Furthermore, assume that the UE has been configured with 9 component carriers (CCs), all of which belong to FR2. The UE is then configured to measure FR1 MO.

[0033] According to the per-FR measurement gap configuration as described above, since FR1 has a separate RFIC for FR2, this situation corresponds to a behavior in which the UE does not need to stop UL / DL transmission on FR2 in order to perform measurements corresponding to FR1 MO. Therefore, it is expected that the UE continues to perform UL / DL communications on the 9 active CCs on FR2 while measuring FR1 MO (e.g., during the per-FR measurement gap of FR1).

[0034] However, it may be the case that the UE's baseband capability is limited to supporting a maximum of 9 simultaneous CCs. Due to this baseband capability limitation, the UE cannot therefore use 9 active CCs simultaneously on FR2 while measuring FR1 MO without exceeding the CC limit (since this would effectively be using the 10th CC simultaneously).

[0035] Therefore, in order to allow measurements corresponding to FR1 MO, in this case, it may be advantageous to allow the UE to instead use a per-UE measurement gap configuration, which would allow the UE to cease active use of all CCs at the UE (e.g., across each of FR1 and FR2) for the time corresponding to the per-UE measurement gap, such that the UE has the ability to measure FR1 MO.

[0036] It is also generally envisioned that in some cases, a UE capable of a per-FR measurement gap procedure that is in CC restriction and is to perform MO measurements may in any case be able to use the per-FR measurement gap procedure (rather than falling back to the use of per-UE measurement gaps as already described) without exceeding the CC restriction. For example, it may be the case that the UE that is to perform MO measurements is in the maximum limit of active CCs across all FRs of the UE, but one or more of the active CCs are in FR1 and one or more of the active CCs are in FR2. In this case, there will be no problem using the per-FR measurement gap procedure to perform MO measurements. This is because when the UE uses measurement gaps corresponding to MO measurements to suspend the use of one of the RFICs corresponding to one of FR1 or FR2, the use of at least one CC will be suspended (in either case). In this case, the UE will never exceed its cross-FR CC limit in order to perform MO measurements.

[0037] Discussing now is the indication from the UE to the network (eg, to the RAN) as to where and whether the UE may use per-FR measurement gaps and per-UE measurement gaps as corresponding to one or more MOs configured at the UE by the network.

[0038] The network may provide the UE with configuration of one or more MOs to be measured by the UE. These MOs may correspond to, for example, measurements on CCs that are not currently the UE's active CCs (eg, to evaluate these CCs for handover purposes, etc., as already described).

[0039] The UE may check each configured MO to determine whether using per-FR measurement gaps to perform measurements on applicable CCs for the MO will cause the UE to exceed the CC limit. For example, the UE may check whether the total number of CCs being used by the UE when measuring each MO is equal to the CC limit in the FR other than the FR for the configured MO. If so, the UE determines that the MO is an "over-limited MO" (a MO for which using per-FR measurement gaps will cause the UE to exceed the CC limit).

[0040] In the case of identifying one or more over-limited MOs from one or more MOs configured by the network, the UE transmits a measurement gap instruction message to the network, the measurement gap instruction message being configured to cause the network to use a per-UE measurement gap corresponding to any over-limited MO. For example, the measurement gap instruction message may be configured to cause the network to not perform scheduling on any FR used by the UE during the time for measuring the over-limited MO.

[0041] In the first case, the measurement gap instruction message includes an indication for each of the one or more MOs configured by the network. Each such indication indicates whether a per FR measurement gap corresponding to the applicable MO can be used. The UE may configure the measurement gap instruction message to indicate that per FR measurement gaps corresponding to one or more over-limited MOs of the one or more MOs configured by the network cannot be used. In addition, the UE determines (at the UE) to use a per UE measurement gap corresponding to each over-limited MO of the over-limited MOs.

[0042] Upon receiving the measurement gap instruction message, for each MO indicating that per FR measurement gaps can be used, the network can use the per FR measurement gaps corresponding to the MO. For each MO indicating that per FR measurement gaps cannot be used, the network can use the per UE measurement gaps corresponding to the MO. Therefore, each of the excess MOs corresponds to the use of per UE measurement gaps at the network.

[0043] In the second case, the measurement gap instruction message includes an indication for each of the one or more CCs used by the one or more MOs configured by the network. Each such indication indicates whether a per FR measurement gap corresponding to the applicable CC can be used. The UE may identify any CC used by any of the one or more over-limited MOs from the one or more CCs used by the one or more MOs configured by the network, and configure the measurement gap instruction message to indicate that a per FR measurement gap corresponding to such CC cannot be used. In addition, the UE determines (at the UE) to use a per UE measurement gap of the MO corresponding to each of these CCs.

[0044] Upon receiving the measurement gap instruction message, for each CC indicating that the per FR measurement gap cannot be used, the network may use the per UE measurement gap corresponding to the MO using the CC. Thus, each of the excess MOs corresponds to the use of a per UE measurement gap at the network. For each CC indicating that the per FR measurement gap can be used, the network may use the per FR measurement gap corresponding to the MO using the CC.

[0045] In the third case, the measurement gap instruction message includes an indication for each of the one or more frequency bands used by one or more MOs configured by the network. Each such indication indicates whether a per-FR measurement gap corresponding to the applicable frequency band can be used. The UE may identify any frequency band used by any of the one or more over-limited MOs from the one or more frequency bands used by the one or more MOs configured by the network, and configure the measurement gap instruction message to indicate that a per-FR measurement gap corresponding to such a frequency band cannot be used. In addition, the UE determines (at the UE) to use a per-UE measurement gap of the MO corresponding to each of these frequency bands.

[0046] Upon receiving the measurement gap instruction message, for each frequency band indicating that the per FR measurement gap cannot be used, the network may use the per UE measurement gap corresponding to the MO using the frequency band. Thus, each of the over-limited MOs corresponds to the use of the per UE measurement gap at the network. For each frequency band indicating that the per FR measurement gap can be used, the network may use the per FR measurement gap corresponding to the MO using the frequency band.

[0047] In a fourth case, the measurement gap instruction message includes an indication for each of the one or more FRs used by the one or more MOs configured by the network. Each such indication indicates whether a per-FR measurement gap corresponding to the applicable FR can be used. The UE may identify any FR used by any of the one or more over-limited MOs from the one or more FRs used by the one or more MOs configured by the network, and configure the measurement gap instruction message to indicate that a per-FR measurement gap corresponding to such FR cannot be used. In addition, the UE determines (at the UE) to use a per-UE measurement gap of the MO corresponding to each CC in these FRs.

[0048] Upon receiving the measurement gap instruction message, for each FR indicating that the per FR measurement gap cannot be used, the network may use the per UE measurement gap corresponding to the MO using the FR. Therefore, each of the excess MOs corresponds to the use of the per UE measurement gap at the network. For each FR indicating that the per FR measurement gap can be used, the network may use the per FR measurement gap corresponding to the MO using the FR.

[0049] In a fifth case, the measurement gap instruction message includes an indication for each of one or more frequency band combinations used by one or more MOs configured by the network. Each such indication indicates whether a per-FR measurement gap corresponding to the applicable frequency band combination can be used. The UE may identify any frequency band combination used by any of the one or more over-limited MOs from the one or more frequency band combinations used by the one or more MOs configured by the network, and configure the measurement gap instruction message to indicate that a per-FR measurement gap corresponding to such a frequency band combination cannot be used. In addition, the UE determines (at the UE) to use a per-UE measurement gap of the MO corresponding to each frequency band in these frequency band combinations.

[0050] Upon receiving the measurement gap instruction message, for each frequency band combination indicating that the per FR measurement gap cannot be used, the network may use the per UE measurement gap corresponding to the MO using the frequency band combination. Therefore, each of the excess MOs corresponds to the use of the per UE measurement gap at the network. For each frequency band combination indicating that the per FR measurement gap can be used, the network may use the per FR measurement gap corresponding to the MO using the frequency band combination.

[0051] In the sixth case, the measurement gap instruction message may indicate to the network that the UE wants to use per-UE measurement gaps for all MOs in one or more MOs configured by the network. It is possible that the UE may be configured to make such an indication in response to an identification of any over-limited MO from one or more MOs configured by the network. Therefore, as described above, when one or more over-limited MOs are identified from one or more MOs configured by the network, the UE makes this indication in the measurement gap instruction message. In addition, the UE determines (at the UE) to use per-UE measurement gaps corresponding to each MO in the MO configured by the network.

[0052] Upon receiving the measurement gap instruction message, the network accordingly uses the per-UE measurement gap corresponding to each of its configured MOs. Thus, each of the excess MOs corresponds to the use of per-UE measurement gaps at the network.

[0053] Figure 1 A method 100 of a UE according to embodiments herein is illustrated. The method 100 comprises: receiving 102 configuration for one or more MOs at the UE from a network.

[0054] The method 100 further comprises identifying 104 at least one exceeding MO among the one or more MOs for which per FR measurement gap usage would cause the UE to exceed the CC limit of the UE.

[0055] The method 100 further comprises transmitting 106 a measurement gap instruction message to the network, the measurement gap instruction message being configured to cause the network to use a first one or more per-UE measurement gaps corresponding to the at least one overriding MO.

[0056] In some embodiments of method 100, the measurement gap instruction message includes one or more indications corresponding to one or more MOs, the one or more indications indicating whether a per FR measurement gap corresponding to one of the one or more MOs can be used, and at least one indication of the one or more indications corresponding to at least one over-limit MO indicates that the corresponding per FR measurement gap cannot be used.

[0057] In some embodiments of method 100, the measurement gap instruction message includes one or more indications corresponding to one or more CCs used by one or more MOs, the one or more indications indicating whether a per FR measurement gap corresponding to one of the one or more CCs can be used, and at least one indication of the one or more indications corresponding to at least one CC of the one or more CCs used by at least one over-limit MO indicates that the corresponding per FR measurement gap cannot be used.

[0058] In some embodiments of method 100, the measurement gap instruction message includes one or more indications corresponding to one or more frequency bands used by one or more MOs, the one or more indications indicating whether per FR measurement gaps corresponding to the one or more frequency bands can be used, and at least one indication of the one or more indications corresponding to at least one of the one or more frequency bands used by at least one over-limit MO indicates that the corresponding per FR measurement gap cannot be used.

[0059] In some embodiments of method 100, the measurement gap instruction message includes one or more indications corresponding to one or more FRs used by one or more MOs, the one or more indications indicating whether a per FR measurement gap corresponding to the one or more FRs can be used, and at least one indication of the one or more indications corresponding to at least one of the one or more FRs used by at least one over-limit MO indicates that the corresponding per FR measurement gap cannot be used.

[0060] In some embodiments of method 100, the measurement gap instruction message includes one or more indications corresponding to one or more frequency band combinations used by one or more MOs, the one or more indications indicating whether a per FR measurement gap corresponding to the one or more frequency band combinations can be used, and at least one indication of the one or more indications corresponding to at least one of the one or more frequency band combinations used by at least one over-limit MO indicates that the corresponding per FR measurement gap cannot be used.

[0061] In some embodiments of method 100, the UE configures the measurement gap instruction message in response to identifying the one or more overrunning MOs to further cause the network to use a second one or more per-UE measurement gaps for each of the one or more MOs that is not the overrunning MO.

[0062] In some implementations of method 100, the CC restricts all FRs used across UEs.

[0063] Embodiments contemplated herein include an apparatus comprising means for performing one or more elements of method 100. The apparatus may be, for example, an apparatus that is a UE (such as wireless device 402 that is a UE, as described herein).

[0064] Embodiments contemplated herein include one or more non-transitory computer-readable media including instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of an electronic device, cause the electronic device to perform one or more elements of method 100. The non-transitory computer-readable medium may be, for example, a memory of a UE (such as memory 406 of wireless device 402 that is a UE, as described herein).

[0065] Embodiments contemplated herein include an apparatus comprising logical components, modules, or circuits for performing one or more elements of the method 100. The apparatus may be, for example, an apparatus of a UE (such as the wireless device 402 that is a UE, as described herein).

[0066] Embodiments contemplated herein include an apparatus comprising: one or more processors and one or more computer-readable media comprising instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform one or more elements of the method 100. The apparatus may be, for example, an apparatus of a UE (such as the wireless device 402 that is a UE, as described herein).

[0067] Embodiments contemplated herein include a signal as described in or in connection with one or more elements of method 100 .

[0068] Embodiments contemplated herein include a computer program or computer program product including instructions, wherein execution of the program by a processor causes the processor to perform one or more elements of the method 100. The processor may be a processor of a UE (such as the processor 404 of the wireless device 402 being a UE, as described herein). These instructions may be located, for example, in a processor of the UE and / or on a memory (such as the memory 406 of the wireless device 402 being a UE, as described herein).

[0069] Figure 2 A method 200 of a RAN according to embodiments herein is illustrated. The method 200 comprises: transmitting 202 to a UE a configuration for one or more MOs at the UE.

[0070] The method 200 also includes: receiving 204 a measurement gap instruction message from the UE, the measurement gap instruction message being configured to cause the RAN to use a first one or more per-UE measurement gaps corresponding to at least one over-limit MO among the one or more MOs, for which per-FR measurement gap usage will cause the UE to exceed the CC limit of the UE.

[0071] The method 200 also includes using 206 the first one or more per-UE measurement gaps with the at least one exceeding MO.

[0072] In some embodiments of method 200, the measurement gap instruction message includes one or more indications corresponding to one or more MOs, the one or more indications indicating whether a per FR measurement gap corresponding to one of the one or more MOs can be used, and at least one indication of the one or more indications corresponding to at least one over-limit MO indicates that the corresponding per FR measurement gap cannot be used.

[0073] In some embodiments of method 200, the measurement gap instruction message includes one or more indications corresponding to one or more CCs used by one or more MOs, the one or more indications indicating whether a per FR measurement gap corresponding to one CC of the one or more CCs can be used, and at least one indication of the one or more indications corresponding to at least one CC of the one or more CCs used by at least one over-limit MO indicates that the corresponding per FR measurement gap cannot be used.

[0074] In some embodiments of method 200, the measurement gap instruction message includes one or more indications corresponding to one or more frequency bands used by one or more MOs, the one or more indications indicating whether per FR measurement gaps corresponding to the one or more frequency bands can be used, and at least one indication of the one or more indications corresponding to at least one of the one or more frequency bands used by at least one over-limit MO indicates that the corresponding per FR measurement gap cannot be used.

[0075] In some embodiments of method 200, the measurement gap instruction message includes one or more indications corresponding to one or more FRs used by one or more MOs, the one or more indications indicating whether a per-FR measurement gap corresponding to the one or more FRs can be used, and at least one of the one or more indications corresponding to at least one of the one or more FRs used by at least one over-limit MO indicates that the corresponding per-FR measurement gap cannot be used.

[0076] In some embodiments of method 200, the measurement gap instruction message includes one or more indications corresponding to one or more frequency band combinations used by one or more MOs, the one or more indications indicating whether a per FR measurement gap corresponding to the one or more frequency band combinations can be used, and at least one indication of the one or more indications corresponding to at least one of the one or more frequency band combinations used by at least one over-limit MO indicates that the corresponding per FR measurement gap cannot be used.

[0077] In some embodiments of method 200, the measurement gap instruction message is configured to further cause the RAN to use a second one or more per-UE measurement gaps for each MO in the one or more MOs that is not an over-limit MO; and method 200 also includes: using the second one or more per-UE measurement gaps with each MO in the one or more MOs that is not an over-limit MO.

[0078] In some implementations of method 200, the CC restricts all FRs used across UEs.

[0079] Embodiments contemplated herein include an apparatus comprising means for performing one or more elements of method 200. The apparatus may be, for example, an apparatus that is a base station (such as network device 418 that is a base station, as described herein).

[0080] Embodiments contemplated herein include one or more non-transitory computer-readable media including instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of an electronic device, cause the electronic device to perform one or more elements of method 200. The non-transitory computer-readable medium may be, for example, a memory of a base station (such as memory 422 of network device 418 acting as a base station, as described herein).

[0081] Embodiments contemplated herein include an apparatus comprising logical components, modules, or circuits operable to perform one or more elements of method 200. The apparatus may be, for example, an apparatus that is a base station (such as network device 418 as a base station, as described herein).

[0082] Embodiments contemplated herein include an apparatus comprising: one or more processors and one or more computer-readable media comprising instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform one or more elements of method 200. The apparatus may be, for example, an apparatus that is a base station (such as network device 418 that is a base station, as described herein).

[0083] Embodiments contemplated herein include a signal as described in or in connection with one or more elements of method 200 .

[0084] Embodiments contemplated herein include a computer program or computer program product including instructions, wherein execution of the program by a processing element causes the processing element to perform one or more elements of method 200. The processor may be a processor of a base station (such as processor 420 of network device 418 as a base station, as described herein). These instructions may be located, for example, in a processor and / or in a memory of a base station (such as memory 422 of network device 418 as a base station, as described herein).

[0085] Figure 3 An example architecture of a wireless communication system 300 according to an embodiment disclosed herein is illustrated. The description provided below is for an example wireless communication system 300 operating in conjunction with the LTE system standard and / or the 5G or NR system standard provided in the 3GPP technical specifications.

[0086] like Figure 3 As shown, wireless communication system 300 includes UE 302 and UE 304 (although any number of UEs may be used). In this example, UE 302 and UE 304 are illustrated as smartphones (e.g., handheld touch screen mobile computing devices capable of connecting to one or more cellular networks), but may also include any mobile or non-mobile computing device configured for wireless communication.

[0087] UE 302 and UE 304 may be configured to be communicatively coupled to RAN 306. In an embodiment, RAN 306 may be NG-RAN, E-UTRAN, etc. UE 302 and UE 304 utilize connections (or channels) (shown as connection 308 and connection 310, respectively) with RAN 306, where each connection (or channel) includes a physical communication interface. RAN 306 may include one or more base stations (such as base station 312 and base station 314) to implement connection 308 and connection 310.

[0088] In this example, connection 308 and connection 310 are air interfaces that enable such communicative coupling and may conform to the RAT used by RAN 306 , such as, for example, LTE and / or NR.

[0089] In some embodiments, UE 302 and UE 304 may also directly exchange communication data via side link interface 316. UE 304 is shown as being configured to access an access point (shown as AP 318) via connection 320. By way of example, connection 320 may include a local wireless connection, such as a connection conforming to any IEEE 802.11 protocol, wherein AP 318 may include In this example, AP 318 may not be connected to another network (eg, the Internet) through CN 324.

[0090] In an embodiment, UE 302 and UE 304 may be configured to communicate with each other or with base station 312 and / or base station 314 over a multi-carrier communication channel using orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) communication signals according to various communication techniques, such as, but not limited to, orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) communication techniques (e.g., for downlink communications) or single carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA) communication techniques (e.g., for uplink and ProSe or sidelink communications), although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect. The OFDM signal may include multiple orthogonal subcarriers.

[0091] In some embodiments, all or part of the base station 312 or the base station 314 may be implemented as one or more software entities running on a server computer as part of a virtual network. In addition, or in other embodiments, the base station 312 or the base station 314 may be configured to communicate with each other via the interface 322. In an embodiment where the wireless communication system 300 is an LTE system (e.g., when the CN 324 is an EPC), the interface 322 may be an X2 interface. The X2 interface may be defined between two or more base stations (e.g., two or more eNBs, etc.) connected to the EPC and / or between two eNBs connected to the EPC. In an embodiment where the wireless communication system 300 is an NR system (e.g., when the CN 324 is a 5GC), the interface 322 may be an Xn interface. The Xn interface is defined between two or more base stations (e.g., two or more gNBs, etc.) connected to the 5GC, between the base station 312 (e.g., gNB) and the eNB connected to the 5GC, and / or between two eNBs connected to the 5GC (e.g., CN 324).

[0092] RAN 306 is shown as being communicatively coupled to CN 324. CN 324 may include one or more network elements 326 configured to provide various data and telecommunication services to customers / subscribers (e.g., UE 302 and users of UE 304) connected to CN 324 via RAN 306. The components of CN 324 may be implemented in one physical device or separate physical devices including components for reading and executing instructions from a machine-readable or computer-readable medium (e.g., a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium).

[0093] In an embodiment, CN 324 may be an EPC, and RAN 306 may be connected to CN 324 via an S1 interface 328. In an embodiment, S1 interface 328 may be divided into two parts: an S1 user plane (S1-U) interface, which carries service data between base station 312 or base station 314 and a serving gateway (S-GW); and an S1-MME interface, which is a signaling interface between base station 312 or base station 314 and a mobility management entity (MME).

[0094] In an embodiment, CN 324 may be a 5GC, and RAN 306 may be connected to CN 324 via an NG interface 328. In an embodiment, NG interface 328 may be divided into two parts: an NG user plane (NG-U) interface, which carries service data between base station 312 or base station 314 and a user plane function (UPF); and an S1 control plane (NG-C) interface, which is a signaling interface between base station 312 or base station 314 and an access and mobility management function (AMF).

[0095] In general, application server 330 may be an element that provides applications (e.g., packet-switched data services) that use Internet Protocol (IP) bearer resources with CN 324. Application server 330 may also be configured to support one or more communication services (e.g., VoIP sessions, group communication sessions, etc.) for UE 302 and UE 304 via CN 324. Application server 330 may communicate with CN 324 via IP communication interface 332.

[0096] Figure 4 A system 400 for performing signaling 434 between a wireless device 402 and a network device 418 according to embodiments disclosed herein is illustrated. The system 400 may be part of a wireless communication system as described herein. The wireless device 402 may be, for example, a UE of a wireless communication system. The network device 418 may be, for example, a base station (e.g., an eNB or a gNB) of a wireless communication system.

[0097] The wireless device 402 may include one or more processors 404. The processor 404 may execute instructions to cause various operations of the wireless device 402 to be performed, as described herein. The processor 404 may include one or more baseband processors implemented using, for example, a central processing unit (CPU), a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a controller, a field programmable gate array (FPGA) device, another hardware device, a firmware device, or any combination thereof configured to perform the operations described herein.

[0098] The wireless device 402 may include a memory 406. The memory 406 may be a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing instructions 408 (which may include, for example, instructions executed by the processor 404). The instructions 408 may also be referred to as program code or a computer program. The memory 406 may also store data used by the processor 404 and results calculated by the processor.

[0099] The wireless device 402 may include one or more transceivers 410, which may include radio frequency (RF) transmitter and / or receiver circuitry that uses an antenna 412 of the wireless device 402 to facilitate signaling (e.g., signaling 434) sent or received by the wireless device 402 with other devices (e.g., network device 418) according to a corresponding RAT.

[0100] The wireless device 402 may include one or more antennas 412 (e.g., one, two, four, or more). For embodiments with multiple antennas 412, the wireless device 402 may utilize the spatial diversity of such multiple antennas 412 to transmit and / or receive multiple different data streams on the same time-frequency resources. This behavior may be referred to as, for example, multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) behavior (referring to multiple antennas used at each of the transmitting device and the receiving device to implement this aspect). MIMO transmission by the wireless device 402 may be implemented based on precoding (or digital beamforming) applied to the wireless device 402, which multiplexes the data streams between the antennas 412 based on known or assumed channel characteristics, so that each data stream is received with appropriate signal strength relative to the other streams and at a desired location in the spatial domain (e.g., the location of the receiver associated with the data stream). Certain embodiments may use a single-user MIMO (SU-MIMO) approach (where data streams are all directed to a single receiver) and / or a multi-user MIMO (MU-MIMO) approach (where separate data streams may be directed to separate (different) receivers in different locations in the spatial domain).

[0101] In certain embodiments with multiple antennas, the wireless device 402 may implement analog beamforming techniques whereby the phases of signals transmitted by the antennas 412 are relatively adjusted so that the (joint) transmissions of the antennas 412 can be directed (this is sometimes referred to as beam steering).

[0102] The wireless device 402 may include one or more interfaces 414. The interface 414 may be used to provide input or output to the wireless device 402. For example, a wireless device 402 that is a UE may include an interface 414, such as a microphone, a speaker, a touch screen, buttons, etc., to allow a user of the UE to input and / or output to the UE. Other interfaces of such a UE may be composed of transmitters, receivers, and other circuits that allow the UE to communicate with other devices (e.g., in addition to the transceiver 410 / antenna 412 described above), and may communicate according to known protocols (e.g., etc.) to perform the operation.

[0103] The wireless device 402 may include a measurement gap module 416. The measurement gap module 416 may be implemented via hardware, software, or a combination thereof. For example, the measurement gap module 416 may be implemented as a processor, circuit, and / or instructions 408 stored in the memory 406 and executed by the processor 404. In some examples, the measurement gap module 416 may be integrated within the processor 404 and / or the transceiver 410. For example, the measurement gap module 416 may be implemented by a combination of software components (e.g., executed by a DSP or a general purpose processor) and hardware components (e.g., logic gates and circuits) within the processor 404 or the transceiver 410.

[0104] The measurement gap module 416 may be used in various aspects of the present disclosure, for example, Figure 1 The measurement gap module 416 is configured to implement per-FR and / or per-UE measurement gaps at the UE in a manner as already described herein.

[0105] The network device 418 may include one or more processors 420. The processor 420 may execute instructions to cause various operations as described herein to be performed for the network device 418. The processor 420 may include one or more baseband processors implemented using, for example, a CPU, a DSP, an ASIC, a controller, an FPGA device, another hardware device, a firmware device, or any combination thereof configured to perform the operations described herein.

[0106] The network device 418 may include a memory 422. The memory 422 may be a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium that stores instructions 424 (which may include, for example, instructions executed by the processor 420). The instructions 424 may also be referred to as program code or a computer program. The memory 422 may also store data used by the processor 420 and results calculated by the processor.

[0107] The network device 418 may include one or more transceivers 426, which may include RF transmitter and / or receiver circuits that use an antenna 428 of the network device 418 to facilitate signaling (e.g., signaling 434) sent or received by the network device 418 with other devices (e.g., wireless device 402) according to the corresponding RAT.

[0108] The network device 418 may include one or more antennas 428 (e.g., one, two, four, or more). In embodiments with multiple antennas 428, the network device 418 may perform MIMO, digital beamforming, analog beamforming, beamsteering, etc. as described.

[0109] The network device 418 may include one or more interfaces 430. The interface 430 may be used to provide input to or output from the network device 418. For example, a network device 418 that is a base station may include an interface 430 consisting of a transmitter, a receiver, and other circuits (e.g., in addition to the transceiver 426 / antenna 428 described above) that enables the base station to communicate with other equipment in the core network and / or enables the base station to communicate with external networks, computers, databases, etc., for the purpose of performing operations, management, and maintenance of the base station or other equipment operably connected thereto.

[0110] The network device 418 may include a measurement gap module 432. The measurement gap module 432 may be implemented via hardware, software, or a combination thereof. For example, the measurement gap module 432 may be implemented as a processor, circuit, and / or instructions 424 stored in the memory 422 and executed by the processor 420. In some examples, the measurement gap module 432 may be integrated within the processor 420 and / or the transceiver 426. For example, the measurement gap module 432 may be implemented by a combination of software components (e.g., executed by a DSP or general purpose processor) and hardware components (e.g., logic gates and circuits) within the processor 420 or the transceiver 426.

[0111] The measurement gap module 432 may be used in various aspects of the present disclosure, for example, Figure 2 The measurement gap module 432 is configured to implement per-FR and / or per-network measurement gaps at the network in a manner as already described herein.

[0112] For one or more embodiments, at least one of the components set forth in one or more of the foregoing figures may be configured to perform one or more operations, techniques, processes, and / or methods as described herein. For example, a baseband processor as described herein in conjunction with one or more of the foregoing figures may be configured to operate according to one or more of the examples set forth herein. For another example, a circuit system associated with a UE, a base station, a network element, etc. as described above in conjunction with one or more of the foregoing figures may be configured to operate according to one or more of the examples set forth herein.

[0113] Unless otherwise expressly stated, any of the above embodiments may be combined with any other embodiment (or combination of embodiments). The foregoing description of one or more specific implementations provides illustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the scope of the embodiments to the precise form disclosed. In view of the above teachings, modifications and variations are possible or can be obtained from the practice of various embodiments.

[0114] Embodiments and implementations of the systems and methods described herein may include various operations that may be embodied in machine executable instructions to be executed by a computer system. A computer system may include one or more general or special purpose computers (or other electronic devices). A computer system may include hardware components that include specific logic components for performing operations; or may include a combination of hardware, software, and / or firmware.

[0115] It should be appreciated that the systems described herein include descriptions of specific embodiments. These embodiments may be combined into a single system, partially combined into other systems, separated into multiple systems, or otherwise divided or combined. In addition, it is contemplated that parameters, attributes, aspects, etc. of another embodiment may be used in one embodiment. For clarity, these parameters, attributes, aspects, etc. are described only in one or more embodiments, and it should be appreciated that these parameters, attributes, aspects, etc. may be combined with or substituted for parameters, attributes, aspects, etc. of another embodiment unless expressly stated herein.

[0116] It is understood that the use of personally identifiable information should be subject to privacy policies and practices that are generally recognized to meet or exceed industry or government requirements for maintaining user privacy. Specifically, personally identifiable information data should be managed and processed to minimize the risk of unintentional or unauthorized access or use, and the nature of the authorized use should be clearly stated to users.

[0117] Although the foregoing has been described in considerable detail for the sake of clarity, it will be apparent that certain changes and modifications may be made without departing from the principles of the invention. It should be noted that there are many alternative ways to implement both the processes and the apparatus described herein. Therefore, the embodiments of the present invention should be regarded as illustrative rather than restrictive, and the specification is not limited to the details given herein, but may be modified within the scope and equivalents of the appended claims.

Claims

1. A method of a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: receiving, from a network, a configuration for one or more measurement objects (MOs) at the UE; identifying at least one exceeding MO among the one or more MOs, for which per frequency range (FR) measurement gap usage would cause the UE to exceed a component carrier (CC) limit of the UE; and A measurement gap instruction message is transmitted to the network, the measurement gap instruction message being configured to cause the network to use a first one or more per-UE measurement gaps corresponding to the at least one overriding MO.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The measurement gap instruction message includes one or more indications corresponding to the one or more MOs, the one or more indications indicating whether a per FR measurement gap corresponding to one of the one or more MOs can be used, and At least one indication of the one or more indications corresponding to the at least one overriding MO indicates that a corresponding per-FR measurement gap cannot be used.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The measurement gap instruction message includes one or more indications corresponding to one or more CCs used by the one or more MOs, the one or more indications indicating whether a per FR measurement gap corresponding to one of the one or more CCs can be used, and At least one indication of the one or more indications corresponding to at least one CC of the one or more CCs used by the at least one overriding MO indicates that the corresponding per FR measurement gap cannot be used.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The measurement gap instruction message includes one or more indications corresponding to one or more frequency bands used by the one or more MOs, the one or more indications indicating whether per-FR measurement gaps corresponding to the one or more frequency bands can be used, and At least one indication of the one or more indications corresponding to at least one of the one or more frequency bands used by the at least one overriding MO indicates that a corresponding per-FR measurement gap cannot be used.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The measurement gap instruction message includes one or more indications corresponding to one or more FRs used by the one or more MOs, the one or more indications indicating whether a per-FR measurement gap corresponding to the one or more FRs can be used, and At least one indication of the one or more indications corresponding to at least one of the one or more FRs used by the at least one overriding MO indicates that the corresponding per-FR measurement gap cannot be used.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The measurement gap instruction message includes one or more indications corresponding to one or more frequency band combinations used by the one or more MOs, the one or more indications indicating whether per-FR measurement gaps corresponding to the one or more frequency band combinations can be used, and At least one indication of the one or more indications corresponding to at least one of the one or more frequency band combinations used by the at least one overriding MO indicates that a corresponding per FR measurement gap cannot be used.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the UE configures the measurement gap instruction message in response to identifying the one or more overrun MOs to further cause the network to use a second one or more per-UE measurement gaps for each of the one or more MOs that is not an overrun MO.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the CC restricts all FRs used across the UE.

9. A method of a Radio Access Network (RAN), the method comprising: transmitting, to a user equipment (UE), a configuration for one or more measurement objects (MOs) at the UE; receiving a measurement gap instruction message from the UE, the measurement gap instruction message being configured to cause the RAN to use a first one or more per-UE measurement gaps corresponding to at least one overriding MO of the one or more MOs, for which per frequency range (FR) measurement gap usage would cause the UE to exceed a component carrier (CC) limit of the UE; and The first one or more per-UE measurement gaps are used with the at least one overriding MO.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein: The measurement gap instruction message includes one or more indications corresponding to the one or more MOs, the one or more indications indicating whether a per FR measurement gap corresponding to one of the one or more MOs can be used, and At least one indication of the one or more indications corresponding to the at least one overriding MO indicates that a corresponding per-FR measurement gap cannot be used.

11. The method according to claim 9, wherein: The measurement gap instruction message includes one or more indications corresponding to one or more CCs used by the one or more MOs, the one or more indications indicating whether a per FR measurement gap corresponding to one of the one or more CCs can be used, and At least one indication of the one or more indications corresponding to at least one CC of the one or more CCs used by the at least one overriding MO indicates that the corresponding per FR measurement gap cannot be used.

12. The method according to claim 9, wherein: The measurement gap instruction message includes one or more indications corresponding to one or more frequency bands used by the one or more MOs, the one or more indications indicating whether per-FR measurement gaps corresponding to the one or more frequency bands can be used, and At least one indication of the one or more indications corresponding to at least one of the one or more frequency bands used by the at least one overriding MO indicates that a corresponding per-FR measurement gap cannot be used.

13. The method of claim 9, wherein: The measurement gap instruction message includes one or more indications corresponding to one or more FRs used by the one or more MOs, the one or more indications indicating whether a per-FR measurement gap corresponding to the one or more FRs can be used, and At least one indication of the one or more indications corresponding to at least one of the one or more FRs used by the at least one overriding MO indicates that the corresponding per-FR measurement gap cannot be used.

14. The method of claim 9, wherein: The measurement gap instruction message includes one or more indications corresponding to one or more frequency band combinations used by the one or more MOs, the one or more indications indicating whether per-FR measurement gaps corresponding to the one or more frequency band combinations can be used, and At least one indication of the one or more indications corresponding to at least one of the one or more frequency band combinations used by the at least one overriding MO indicates that a corresponding per FR measurement gap cannot be used.

15. The method of claim 9, wherein: The measurement gap instruction message is configured to further cause the RAN to use a second one or more per-UE measurement gaps for each of the one or more MOs that is not an overrunning MO, and The method also includes using the second one or more per-UE measurement gaps with each MO of the one or more MOs that is not an overrunning MO.

16. The method of claim 9, wherein the CC restricts all FRs used across the UE.

17. An apparatus comprising means for performing the method according to any one of claims 1 to 16.

18. A computer-readable medium comprising instructions, which, when executed by one or more processors of an electronic device, cause the electronic device to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 16.

19. An apparatus comprising logic components, modules or circuits for performing the method according to any one of claims 1 to 16.

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